by Todd Herzman
Ruben closed his eyes and let out a breath. He steadied himself. He should be excited—he was about to see his sister for the first time in months. He was going to bring her into safety. But all he could think of was how she must feel right now. He remembered being stuck on Malarin’s ship, all that time. He remembered the smell of the brig, being marched in chains from the dock to the castle to the God King’s feet.
The sun shone through the ship’s sails, bathing Ruben in red as his eyes scanned the deck. A great big plank made a gangway to the dock. The ship seemed bigger than Malarin’s had been. He caught movement over the side. A tall man dressed in black. The blood lord, Ruben thought. They always seem to dress in black. He looked down at his own dark clothes, thought back to last night, the alley, and what he was becoming.
He heard the tell-tale clink of metal on metal. Manacles. He stretched his hearing, trying to catch any words spoken on the ship, but it was quiet. The blood lord stepped onto the plank. His face was blank, bored. The expression reminded him of one he’d seen on nobles’ sons, walking through the market in Devien, their eyes scanning the stalls with a measure of disinterest bordering on insult.
The plank creaked with the blood lord’s weight. Ruben’s eyes flicked to behind the man as a girl stepped off the boat. Ella. Ruben took a step forward. She wore manacles. Her hair was longer than he remembered it. And she looked different… stronger, despite her circumstances. Their eyes met. Ella’s widened at the sight of him. She looked as if she were about to yell out his name, then her gaze swept over his guards and she seemed to deflate.
The blood lord stepped onto the dock, Ella two steps behind.
‘A welcome party,’ the blood lord said in a bored voice. ‘How nice.’ He looked at Ella, a sneer covered his face. ‘This one’s meant for the God King.’
Ruben gave the man a hard look. ‘Renial sent me to greet her.’
The blood lord, only a hairbreadth taller than Ruben, still managed to look down his nose at him. ‘I was supposed to deliver her personally.’ The blood lord stepped forward. So did Ruben’s guards. The blood lord eyed the guards, each in turn, then bowed his head and backed off. ‘I see plans have changed.’
‘Yes, they have.’ Ruben set his jaw, feeling a confidence he lacked only moments ago. ‘I suggest you retire to your ship. I am sure Renial will call on you if you’re needed.’
The blood lord blinked, a somewhat bemused look replacing the bored one. He gave a last, lingering look at Ella before turning and walking back onto the ship without protest.
That was easy, Ruben thought. He couldn’t help but smile at the man’s retreating form.
‘Ruben?’ Ella stared up at him, forehead creased, mouth slightly agape.
‘Ella!’ His smile widened as he embraced her in a hug. Her manacles stopped her from hugging him back, clanking at her waist. She stiffened in his arms. He let go of her, suddenly wondering what she must think. Her eyes were on him, but they weren’t on his face—they were on his neck. He grabbed her hands. ‘You shouldn’t be wearing these.’
The blood lord hadn’t left a key. Ruben examined the metal. Iron. He remembered how long it had taken him to melt the iron back on Malarin’s ship. His powers were stronger now. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. She stepped away from him at his words. He gripped her hands tighter. There was a burn on her wrist. He looked over her shoulder, glaring at the back of the blood lord’s head as he stepped onto the boat.
Ruben looked back at the manacles. He placed a finger in the locks of each, let out a breath, and melted the metal.
‘Ow.’ The manacles broke off, clattering to the floor. Ella shook out her wrists. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the manacles, then back at her brother. ‘What did you do?’ she asked, her breath shuddering.
‘I’m sorry if I burned you.’ Ruben turned to the side, he motioned her to move toward the city. ‘Come, we have much to talk about.’
Ella grabbed his arm. ‘What’s happening, Ruben? I thought—I thought you were dead.’ She looked up at the guards in the pitch-black armour, then beyond them at the city. ‘I was kidnapped, taken here…’ She shook her head. ‘Where are we?’
Ruben removed her hand from his arm. ‘Just come with me, sister.’
Chapter 59
Ella
Ruben’s grip on her arm was tight, almost painful. He looked thinner than he used to, but no less strong. There was something different in his eyes.
‘Just come with me, sister.’ The guards stepped forward at his words. Tall, heavily armoured men with vicious looking poleaxes.
She wondered if she could take the guards down. The metal they wore would soak up her lightning, electrocuting them where they stood. She could drag her brother back onto the ship and have it sailing in seconds.
They still need to find Malarin, she thought.
‘Okay, Ruben,’ she said. ‘I’ll—I’ll come with you.’
Ruben smiled down at her. A relieved, warm smile. It reminded her of old times. Except for his clothes. She glanced again at the scar on his neck before walking beside him down the dock. She gripped her opposite wrists, feeling the slight burns from when he’d melted off her manacles. He’s bloodlocked, she thought. And has magic. But his personality seemed his own, if… changed.
This was not the reunion she’d anticipated. Walking down the docks, she wondered if their plan would even work. It’s gotten me this far, she thought, throwing a glance over her shoulder. But this is exactly what would’ve happened had she not defeated the blood lord and seized his ship. She sighed inwardly. Aralia and Reena intended to have Malarin on the ship by midnight, but she’d no way of knowing whether they would be successful.
She looked at the position of the sun. She had less than twelve hours to get her brother back on that ship. Every step she took away from the docks made her wonder just how stupid her plan really was.
‘You’re awfully quiet.’
Ella glanced up at Ruben, who peered down at her. He was clean shaven, his clothes looked like… like the blood lord’s, she thought. She could smell a flowery scent wafting from him. Expensive clothes, expensive baths. The God King was taking oddly good care of her brother. She was relieved to see he was okay, even if he was bloodlocked and under someone else’s control.
‘I don’t know what to think, Ruben.’ She looked down at her wrists, where the manacles had been. She had a key sewed into the lining of her left sleeve, but she wouldn’t need it now. ‘How did you unlock these?’
There was a twinkle in her brother’s eye, like when he would look at the night sky and tell her and Marius stories about the stars. ‘Magic.’ His forehead scrunched together. ‘Mother and Father never mentioned. But apparently, it runs in the family.’
‘Magic?’ she tried to sound surprised. She wondered if whoever controlled him was listening—even if they weren’t, his guards were close enough to hear their words. She looked at their surroundings. They passed through a marketplace. It reminded her of the one in Devien—the only one she’d really been to. People smiled and talked, went about their business, sailors haggled with merchants.
They look… happy, she thought. But how could they be? If what Reena had told her was right, everyone in the Albion Dominion was bloodlocked to the God King, excepting his blood lords and their own thralls. Every single person. The very thought sent her shivering.
‘I discovered it when I was taken by Malarin—the man who attacked our town.’
He’s on a first name basis? Ella turned her gaze to look at her brother. He stared down at his hands. Fire sparked and blossomed from them. She’d been half-expecting it and forced herself to flinch back from the display.
‘It’s okay, Ella.’ Ruben smiled at her, flames flickering above his palms. ‘It’s safe—I would never hurt you.’
‘I—I still don’t understand.’ She didn’t have to fake the confusion in her voice.
‘I know.’ Ruben extinguished the flame
s with practiced ease and put a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened at his touch. ‘There’s a lot to explain… I’ll tell you all about it, I promise. Once we reach the garden.’
He let go of her, and she let out a silent sigh. She looked down the lane they walked on. Everything in this city felt so normal. She hadn’t known what to expect, but it wasn’t this. The God King’s castle loomed above them. She didn’t have to wonder at what would happen when they got there. The God King bloodlocked Ruben because of his powers, she thought, he’s going to do the same to me.
When she’d first dreamt up this plan, rolling into the harbour on a blood lord’s ship, she’d envisaged skulking through the city by shadow of night. She hadn’t imagined walking its streets by day, marching straight to the God King’s castle. She’d never believed she would succeed, not really—but she desperately needed to try.
When Aralia showed her she’d bloodlocked the blood lord, Ella had been disgusted.
And at the same time, she’d been relieved. She’d felt a confidence in the plan she hadn’t felt before—a confidence that had replaced her desperation. That confidence was stripped away when she saw her brother and the scar on his neck.
She’d made a horrible mistake coming here. Maybe she could get her brother to the ship, but if it was the God King who’d bloodlocked him, how would she ever break that hold?
A thought hit Ella’s mind. She’d been so focused on finding her brother, ever since he’d been taken, she’d barely wondered about the others. When she’d left town, she’d promised to bring more than just her brother back. Not that they’d believed her. They would be surprised she’d even gotten this far.
‘Is Taya here too?’
Ruben’s face soured, then relaxed. ‘She’s safe.’
‘Where?’
Ruben seemed to force himself not to look at her. ‘She’s in the castle.’
‘And the others?’
Ruben drew in his eyebrows, anger flickering on his face. ‘I will explain everything, soon.’
Ella doubted that. She put a hand to her neck and wondered at her fate. She could still run. She looked over her shoulder again. The docks were falling away into the distance, but she could still see the sails of the ship she’d left. She could make it back, force them to sail out of the bay. Ella shoved the thought away, dismissing it before it could solidify. She’d known the risks since she’d left Billings, she wasn’t about to run just because she might fail.
She looked at her brother, his face set in an expression she couldn’t read. ‘I missed you, Ruben.’
His expression melted into a sombre one as he met her eyes. ‘I missed you, too.’
‘I’m scared, big brother.’
Ruben smiled. ‘We’re safe here. There’s no need to be scared anymore.’ The words sounded so true, so genuine, as if it were really her brother talking.
She thought of Magna, back on the ship, and the control the blood lord had over her. Magna had said he had a lighter touch on her, because he needed her to think for herself to be able to perform in her role—unlike the fighters, who only needed to be left with their base instincts. Perhaps the God King’s control on her brother was just as light as it seemed to be with the people they passed.
But that could change without warning.
She hugged her right hand to her left arm. Her brother was trying to reassure her, trying to coax her into feeling safe in this place as he walked her into the God King’s presence. She wondered why it was happening this way. Couldn’t they just drag her there, throw her at his feet? She glanced back at the guards. Maybe they would, if she tried to fight it.
‘The blood lord said I was for the God King.’ She took a breath, let it out. ‘I’ve heard what blood mages do, Ruben.’ Her voice shook. She stopped walking. The guards stopped behind her, their armour no longer clinking. ‘I don’t want that to happen to me.’
Ruben turned to her. ‘That’s not going to happen, little sister. I know it doesn’t make sense…’ He sighed, looked away from her. ‘Please, let me take you to the garden. I’ll explain it all to you there.’
Ella shook her head. She didn’t mean to take a step back, her body seemed to do it of its own accord. ‘You’re taking me to the God King, aren’t you?’
Anger flashed on his face again. ‘I’m your brother, don’t you trust me?’ He clenched his fists, his cheeks the colour of his hair. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. ‘I’m your brother, Ella. I would never let anything happen to you, okay? I just want to take you somewhere we can talk.’ He looked over his shoulder, up at the castle, then he glanced at the two guards.
It looked as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t speak. Why would he be afraid of being overhead? Maybe he wasn’t trying to take her straight to the God King. He kept mentioning a garden. Nothing about this felt right, but she didn’t see what other options there were. Bloodlocked or not, she would have to trust her brother.
I’m an idiot, she thought as she started walking again. The people bowed their heads deferentially at her brother as they passed. What in the world have I walked into?
Would Aralia and Reena come for her if she didn’t make it to the ship by midnight?
Chapter 60
Marius
A crowd of monks gathered around them in the great hall. Marius glanced at their shaved heads. Lilah and Master Flynn stood by the head table. Lilah’s swords were laid out in their scabbards atop the table, and she was taking off her leather bracers, the ones embedded with crystals. She undid the straps of one, placing it next to the swords, staring at Master Flynn as she did so.
‘This goes against every instinct I have.’ Lilah undid the second bracer, putting it beside the other.
‘Then I thank you for doing it.’ Master Flynn’s hands were tucked into his sleeves. He stood two feet from the seeker. Marius had had his mind read before, but he still imagined the monk placing his hands on her head. Master Flynn didn’t so much as step forward. He just closed his eyes. The hall silenced.
Lilah shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Marius hadn’t seen her look so unsure of herself.
A long moment later, Master Flynn opened his eyes. He bowed his head in a slow nod. ‘Lilah will protect us while our defences are down.’ His voice carried across the hall.
Jesriel sighed beside Marius. ‘Thank you, Lilah. And thank you, Master Flynn. For everything. Your monastery has been my sanctuary for so many years. I would never wish for anything to happen to it.’
‘Nor would I,’ Master Flynn said.
Lilah refastened her sword belt, re-strapped her leather bracers, then came to stand in front of Marius. ‘This is where I leave you.’ She put her arm out. They grabbed each other’s forearms and shook.
‘Thank you for saving my life.’ Marius let go of her forearm and hugged Lilah, holding her tight before letting go.
Lilah’s mouth opened in surprise, then a smile played on her lips. ‘You’re welcome, Marius.’
Marius stepped aside as Jesriel, hands behind her back, turned to Lilah.
‘One day, I will repay the debt I owe you for looking after my son.’
Lilah set her jaw. ‘Just make sure my efforts are worth it.’ The seeker nodded at Marius one last time before heading out of the great hall. She’d be able to draw her Starblade out there, its effects wouldn’t penetrate the walls of the monastery’s caves. Marius wished he could see her wield it, at the same time hoping she’d never have to.
Tables and chairs were pushed against the wall. Master Flynn and Jesriel had their hands raised, performing the task in moments. When the floor was cleared, Marius and his mother sat beside each other in the centre of the great hall. Legs crossed, holding hands. The monks formed an ever-widening circle around them, sitting themselves.
‘Make sure to keep your eyes closed, Marius. The sheer amount of mana required to perform something like this… the light it produces will be disorienting,’ Jes
riel said.
Marius nodded at his mother then shut his eyes. The great hall went silent but for hundreds of intakes and releases of breath. Jesriel squeezed his hand. He let out a long breath, and focused.
Marius, Jesriel, and every monk in the great hall focused their minds. They reached out for the mana in the mountain. It reminded him of the first time he’d done this, sitting across from Peiter in the forest, dozens of balls of light descending upon them. This was like that, but a hundred-fold. A thousand-fold.
Marius first drew upon the mana in the lavan as the others did. The light behind his eyes brightened. He wanted to open them, wanted to see the display they were creating, but he resisted. He increased his awareness, drawing upon the plants in the monastery’s gardens, though they were depleted fast. He expanded his awareness, again and again, pulling mana from trees farther and farther away. As he did, he remembered what Peiter had told him, and knew the price they were paying this day—knew the plants around them might never be the same for having lost so much mana, so much lifeforce, in such a short time.
The light, ever brightening, pierced his lids. His eyes stung. He scrunched them closed, as hard as he could. His breathing quickened as the power surrounded him. All the mana they drew upon was claimed by his mother. He could almost see it, circling around her like a whirlpool sucked down a bath’s drain. His focus heightened exponentially the more mana he pulled. He could feel the lack of energy around the monastery—the lack of life. It sent a shiver up his spine and created a pit in his stomach that felt familiar.
His mind flashed to when he’d stumbled into the deadland in the forest. The oppressive feeling he’d felt inside that place where nothing grew—it was the same feeling he felt from around them. Are we doing the right thing? he thought, but it was too late for regrets.